Bicoastal creative production company Alldayeveryday has joined forces with agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners along with editorial shop Cut+Run ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics to bring more powerful ‘Defy Labels’ statements for BMW’s MINI Cooper from several athletes who’ve broken barriers in sports.

Eight participating 2016 Olympians from rising female boxer Claressa Shields and fencer Ibithaj Muhammad to superstars like Serena Williams take center stage in the “Defy Labels” effort, which was directed and shot in three cities spanning the U.S. by AllDayEveryDay director Matt Baron, who’s fresh off a Cannes Lion-winning project for hip-hop maestro, Kendrick Lamar. Teaming with BSSP and Cut+Run, Baron crafts an uplifting, emotional campaign for MINI Cooper that focuses on those athletes who’ve overcome adversity and obstacles – from beating cancer to defying stereotypes and labels – to reach the pinnacle in their respective sports.

“It was really an honor to work on a spot driven by an issue that is so relevant to the challenges in our society today,” says Baron. “Everyone is faced with labels and put in boxes at some point in their life. This constant categorizing only promotes false prejudice and separation between groups of people. It is up to each and every one of us to do our part to show how meaningless these labels actually are. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you look like. You can be anybody or do anything in this world. That’s why I was thrilled to have the opportunity to make this film that would reach so many with this positive message.”